Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has criticised the Federal High Court’s decision to deregister five political parties, describing the ruling as an abuse of court process and a violation of an existing order by the Court of Appeal.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor expressed surprise that the lower court proceeded to deliver judgment despite an appellate court order staying proceedings in the matter.
According to Adeleke, records presented before Justice Peter Lifu showed that the Court of Appeal, in its proceedings of May 22, 2026, had clearly stated that the delivery of judgment remained part of the judicial process and should not proceed pending further determination.
The governor called on residents of Osun State to remain calm, assuring them that the Court of Appeal was already addressing the matter. He maintained that attempts to prevent citizens from exercising their democratic rights would not succeed and expressed confidence that the rule of law would ultimately prevail.
Adeleke further insisted that the Accord Party would appear on the ballot in the August 15 governorship election and predicted a landslide victory for his party.
“We will not only be on the ballot; we will win overwhelmingly in the forthcoming governorship election. Our people should remain calm and continue mobilisation efforts,” he said.
The governor also confirmed that the official launch of the party’s campaign would proceed as scheduled, accusing political opponents of attempting to distract his administration ahead of the election.
Meanwhile, Adeleke welcomed the dismissal of an application seeking tenure elongation for chairmen elected under the All Progressives Congress in Osun State.
Speaking during a press conference on recent political developments, the governor said the court’s decision aligned with constitutional provisions and reinforced previous judicial precedents that declared tenure elongation unconstitutional.
He argued that the affected chairmen lacked the legal standing to institute the case and maintained that their tenure had expired in October 2025.
Based on the ruling, Adeleke urged the Nigeria Police Force, particularly the Inspector-General of Police and the Osun State Command, to withdraw security protection from what he described as the illegal occupation of local government secretariats by the affected chairmen.
“I specifically direct the Commissioner of Police to stop providing further security cover for the illegal occupation of the council secretariats by the sacked chairmen,” the governor stated.
